Hollis Resnik
Encyclopedia
Hollis Resnik is an American
singer and actress, especially in stage musicals.
(a suburb of Cleveland
), as a young girl she studied piano and took voice lessons and performed with the Cleveland Symphony Children's Choir. Attending Russell H. Erwine Elementary and Shore Junior High School, she graduated from Euclid High School in 1973.
She graduated from Denison University
with a Bachelor of Fine Arts
degree.
A Chicago-based theatre actress, Resnik is the 1992 winner of the Sarah Siddons Award
. She appeared three times on the television show Cupid, and had a support role in the motion pictures Backdraft
and Little Big Top
, an independent film. In 1993 Resnik appeared in the Off-Broadway
musical version of Wings
as Amy the "symathetic therapist".
In 2002, she released a CD titled "Make Someone Happy", which has broadway, pop, jazz and original songs.
She has toured in several musicals. She played the role of "Fantine" in the 3rd National US Tour of Les Miserables
in 1988. She played Mrs. Meers in the US tour of Thoroughly Modern Millie
in 2003 and in 2006 was Muriel in the US tour of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
. In March 2007 Resnik toured in the musical Man of La Mancha
in the part of Aldonza, also known as Dulcinea.
In the 2001 Ravinia Festival (Illinois) concert version of Sweeney Todd
Resnik played the beggar woman. In 2002 she appeared in A Little Night Music
in concert at the Ravinia Festival as Countess Charlotte Malcolm. She played the roles of Escalante/Aldonza/Dulcinea in the production of Man of LaMancha at the Court Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, from September 29, 2005 to November 13, 2005. The reviewer wrote "one of Chicago’s favorites, Hollis Resnik as Aldonza/Dulcinea (hers is a different interpretation of the role, and she is dynamite)."
Resnik starred as the two middle-aged Edies in the Mid-west premiere of Grey Gardens
in suburban Chicago's Northlight Theatre, Skokie, Illinois
(under the direction of artistic director BJ Jones) from November 12, 2008 through December 21, 2008, in which she was called "splendid" by the talkinbroadway.com reviewer. She played Velma Von Tussle in the musical Hairspray
at the Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire, Illinois
in 2009. She played the role of "Old Woman" in the Goodman Theatre
's production of Leonard Bernstein's musical Candide
in September and October 2010. The chicagonow.com reviewer wrote that "Resnik is hilarious as a half-buttock survivor of her own misfortune. Her 'I Am Easily Assimilated' musical number is easily one of the best songs in the show." She starred as Margaret in the Arena Stage
(Washington, DC) production of The Light in the Piazza in 2010. The Washington Post reviewer wrote of her performance "Resnik projects soulful vulnerability, a sense that this stifled woman needs as much protection as she seeks to bestow."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer and actress, especially in stage musicals.
Biography
Born in 1955 and raised in Euclid, OhioEuclid, Ohio
Euclid is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Greater Cleveland Metropolitan Area, and borders Cleveland. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 48,920...
(a suburb of Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
), as a young girl she studied piano and took voice lessons and performed with the Cleveland Symphony Children's Choir. Attending Russell H. Erwine Elementary and Shore Junior High School, she graduated from Euclid High School in 1973.
She graduated from Denison University
Denison University
Denison University is private, coeducational, and residential college of liberal arts and sciences founded in 1831. It is located in Granville, Ohio, United States, approximately 30 miles east of Columbus, the state capital...
with a Bachelor of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
degree.
A Chicago-based theatre actress, Resnik is the 1992 winner of the Sarah Siddons Award
Sarah Siddons Award
The Sarah Siddons Society is an American non-profit organization founded in 1952 by prominent Chicago theatre patrons with the goal of promoting excellence in the theatre. The Society presents the Sarah Siddons Award annually to an actor for an outstanding performance in a Chicago theatre production...
. She appeared three times on the television show Cupid, and had a support role in the motion pictures Backdraft
Backdraft (film)
Backdraft is a 1991 action thriller film directed by Ron Howard and written by Gregory Widen. The film stars Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rebecca De Mornay, Donald Sutherland, and Robert De Niro. Jason Gedrick and J. T. Walsh co-star in the film...
and Little Big Top
Little Big Top
Little Big Top is 2006 American comedy film written and directed by Ward Roberts and starring Sid Haig, Richard Riehle, Hollis Resnik, Mel England, and Jacob Zachar. The film tells the story of an aging, unemployed clown who returns to his small hometown, content to spend to rest of his days in a...
, an independent film. In 1993 Resnik appeared in the Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
musical version of Wings
Wings (play)
Wings is a 1978 play by American playwright Arthur Kopit. Originating as a radio play, it was later adapted for stage and screen.In 1976, Kopit was commissioned to write an original radio play by the NPR drama project Earplay...
as Amy the "symathetic therapist".
In 2002, she released a CD titled "Make Someone Happy", which has broadway, pop, jazz and original songs.
She has toured in several musicals. She played the role of "Fantine" in the 3rd National US Tour of Les Miserables
Les Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
in 1988. She played Mrs. Meers in the US tour of Thoroughly Modern Millie
Thoroughly Modern Millie (musical)
Thoroughly Modern Millie is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori, lyrics by Dick Scanlan, and a book by Richard Morris and Scanlan. Based on the 1967 film of the same name, Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of a small-town girl, Millie Dillmount, who comes to New York City to marry for...
in 2003 and in 2006 was Muriel in the US tour of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (musical)
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a Broadway musical, with music and lyrics by David Yazbek and a book by Jeffrey Lane; it is based on the film of the same name...
. In March 2007 Resnik toured in the musical Man of La Mancha
Man of La Mancha
Man of La Mancha is a musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, lyrics by Joe Darion and music by Mitch Leigh. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay I, Don Quixote, which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes's seventeenth century masterpiece Don Quixote...
in the part of Aldonza, also known as Dulcinea.
In the 2001 Ravinia Festival (Illinois) concert version of Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as then antagonist of the Victorian penny dreadful The String of Pearls and he was later introduced as an antihero in the broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and its film adaptation...
Resnik played the beggar woman. In 2002 she appeared in A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade...
in concert at the Ravinia Festival as Countess Charlotte Malcolm. She played the roles of Escalante/Aldonza/Dulcinea in the production of Man of LaMancha at the Court Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, from September 29, 2005 to November 13, 2005. The reviewer wrote "one of Chicago’s favorites, Hollis Resnik as Aldonza/Dulcinea (hers is a different interpretation of the role, and she is dynamite)."
Resnik starred as the two middle-aged Edies in the Mid-west premiere of Grey Gardens
Grey Gardens (musical)
Grey Gardens is an American musical with book by Doug Wright, music by Scott Frankel, and lyrics by Michael Korie, based on the 1975 documentary of the same title about the lives of Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith Bouvier Beale by Albert and David Maysles. The Beales were...
in suburban Chicago's Northlight Theatre, Skokie, Illinois
Skokie, Illinois
Skokie is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Its name comes from a Native American word for "fire". A Chicago suburb, for many years Skokie promoted itself as "The World's Largest Village". Its population, per the 2000 census, was 63,348...
(under the direction of artistic director BJ Jones) from November 12, 2008 through December 21, 2008, in which she was called "splendid" by the talkinbroadway.com reviewer. She played Velma Von Tussle in the musical Hairspray
Hairspray (musical)
Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues...
at the Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire, Illinois
Lincolnshire, Illinois
Lincolnshire is a village in the Vernon Township region of Lake County, in the U.S. state of Illinois. The village is a suburb of Chicago, a city in the adjacent Cook County. Its population was 6,108 at the time of the 2000 census. Lincolnshire was incorporated on August 5, 1957, from the...
in 2009. She played the role of "Old Woman" in the Goodman Theatre
Goodman Theatre
The Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of Chicago theatre, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization...
's production of Leonard Bernstein's musical Candide
Candide
Candide, ou l'Optimisme is a French satire first published in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide: or, All for the Best ; Candide: or, The Optimist ; and Candide: or, Optimism...
in September and October 2010. The chicagonow.com reviewer wrote that "Resnik is hilarious as a half-buttock survivor of her own misfortune. Her 'I Am Easily Assimilated' musical number is easily one of the best songs in the show." She starred as Margaret in the Arena Stage
Arena Stage
Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest Washington, D.C. Its declared mission"is to produce huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit. Arena has broad shoulders and a capacity to produce anything from vast epics...
(Washington, DC) production of The Light in the Piazza in 2010. The Washington Post reviewer wrote of her performance "Resnik projects soulful vulnerability, a sense that this stifled woman needs as much protection as she seeks to bestow."